In climate matters, Gasmet is a part of the solution
Gasmet has succeeded in building a highly participatory corporate culture where employees enthusiastically contribute to creating environmentally-friendly approaches to work and day-to-day life.
Through its area of expertise and specialization, Gasmet inherently helps to solve vast global environmental challenges.
“We are proud to be a part of the solution. The quality of our products is extremely high, and they can be used to measure greenhouse gas emissions extremely accurately. Our products help many researchers and universities all over the world to obtain valuable information about greenhouse gases and climate change,” says Ulla Kosonen, quality manager and sustainability ambassador at Gasmet Technologies Oy.
Sustainability is a natural part of the day-to-day activities of the company and its employees. This is partly due to Kosonen’s participatory approach that encourages dialogue and helps to put ideas rapidly into practice.
“I often go and chat with the people at the production department and ask about recycling details. For instance, I check if the waste containers are the right kind and if the collection intervals are sufficient. I get many ideas from the employees during these visits and I ensure, that they are rapidly put into practice. When I was asked for a separate bin for wood, it was immediately ordered the following week.”
Extensive strategic planning lays the foundation
The approach is based on strategic planning. The activities are continuous, and many changes have already been implemented. All new employees receive training on quality and environmental matters, and sustainable development is one of the included themes.
In addition to respect for nature, sustainability at Gasmet also includes social responsibility in the corporate culture and safety at work. It is supported by the Environment, Social and Governance project, launched in 2016. During the project, the company applied for and received an environmental certificate, and Gasmet’s Sustainability Strategy was devised. Today, these strategic principles and operational models are firmly ingrained in the company’s practices.
“We follow the implementation of our Sustainability Strategy using various indicators. For instance, we try to increase purchases from suppliers who commit to observing our code of conduct. We also aim to decrease the share of airborne cargo and increase the number of types of waste that can be recycled. In 2020, our carbon footprint decreased by 26% compared to the level in 2019,” says Kosonen.
Continuous development of more environmentally friendly activities
Ulla Kosonen’s approach, based on listening and encouraging dialogue and employee participation, is also supported by Gasmet’s 1.5 Initiative in which we all commit to limiting global warming to 1.5°C. The initiative engages staff members in a new environmental theme every month, both at home and at work.
Gasmet’s employees encourage one another to prepare low-emission food, share tips of functional domestic recycling bins, roam the forests to enjoy nature, cycle to work and put the fat from their Christmas hams into collection points where it ends up in recycled diesel.
Participatory corporate culture motivates everybody to commit to mutual environmental and safety objectives
The value of a participatory employee culture is that all employees commit to both the mutual objectives and the entire company. This is partly made possible by having a person whose duties include both listening to the employees and putting their ideas into practice.
The monthly Safety and Environmental Walks provide another way to promote participation. The aim of the walks is to maintain a clean and organized production space, reinforce positive attitudes and actions related to safety and the environment, and to ensure that the workplace is safe and the waste is sorted correctly.
“The Walks provide an opportunity to chat with my co-workers. During these conversations, I often get concrete requests, such as the possibility to recycle certain types of waste. We have now been working remotely for a long time, and still I get new development ideas from our employees by email. The environment is important for us all, and we want to constantly think about how things could be done even better than before,” says Kosonen.
A tree is planted for each deal
One of the latest ideas was implemented in early 2021. Now Gasmet has started planting trees for each analyzer it sells. The trees are selectively planted in different parts of the world: the United States, South America, Africa and Australia.
This is a new and really great initiative. We will continue to plant trees in the future as well.
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